


Broken: Aftermath

by RexBrickowski



Category: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Genre: Emmet is an angery boi, Gen, he's done with Rex's BS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-22 19:57:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19987936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RexBrickowski/pseuds/RexBrickowski
Summary: After the Incident at the top of the Space Temple, Rex takes Emmet back to the Rexcelsior.It's time Rex told him the truth.... Even if things are totally off script now.





	Broken: Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Broken](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19770808) by [RexBrickowski](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RexBrickowski/pseuds/RexBrickowski). 



> I didn't want to add another chapter to Broken because it works as a stand-alone fic, so...  
> This story is an optional add-on to Broken!  
> Just something I wanted to write because it was plaguing my mind until I wrote it

Rex stared out at the stars before him through one eye, still holding a cold compress to his right one. Emmet really did pack a punch for a weakling. Rex was certain was going to have quite an impressive shiner...  
Rex's thoughts trailed off, and he risked another glance over his shoulder at the "weakling" in question.  
Emmet was still sitting on a bench near the water cooler, face buried in his hands. He hadn't moved from that position since the raptors had pulled him off of Rex and shoved him onto the seat.  
On the way back from the temple, Emmet had stopped trying to free himself before they had even reached the Rexcelsior, slumping over in defeat. The moment Rex had released him inside the ship, however, Emmet had turned and struck, his movements so sudden and unflinching that Rex had no time to brace himself. In another moment Emmet had been on top of him, delivering blow after blow, screaming every insult he knew... Which wasn't a lot, but was still jarring enough that Rex had frozen in place. Who knows how much more Rex would have sat and taken in shock, had his faithful raptors not intervened?  
Rex didn't think he had ever seen Emmet so angry. Not even when he had used his Master Breaker ability. Hell, it wasn't until Dryar that Rex himself had ever felt true fury.  
`I mean, I guess that just makes things easier for me,` Rex mused, turning back to the window. `He's more than halfway completed the steps to becoming like me, without even needing the isolation of Undar.`  
Of course, Rex couldn't help but feel uneasy. It was a much different story to be cultivating that anger, than to be the one on the receiving end of all of it. He'd have to do a lot of talking to--  
"Rex."  
Emmet's voice was barely a croak, exhausted from all of his yelling.  
Rex didn't even bother turning back to him. He already knew what Emmet was going to say. After all, who knew the ex-construction worker better than himself? Without a doubt, he had been silently beating himself up while sitting there. He was a pacifist at heart, and surely regretted beating up his pseudo-brother. Rex already had the words "I forgive you" on his tongue, ready for the apology Emmet was sure to give him.  
"What were you trying to make me do?"  
Rex felt a chill that had nothing to do with the ice on his face.  
He forced himself to continue facing the window, keeping his back to Emmet. No need to show his unease. "What do you mean?"  
"That wedding wasn't really going to bring about Armamageddon, was it?" Rex glanced down, and found he could see Emmet's reflection in the glass before him. He was sitting up now, staring at Rex intently. There was no regret or sorrow in his gaze. But there wasn't any hatred, either. He just... stared.  
"... No. It wasn't." Rex looked up, away from the unsettling mirror Emmet, playing it off as a brooding look.  
"I knew it," Emmet muttered. "There's no reason Lucy would've... Unless she..."  
"Unless she was b--"  
"SHE WASN'T BRAINWASHED."  
Rex paused, ignoring another chill that sent the back of his neck prickling. Okay, so he was still upset. Of course he would be. Killing his girlfriend would be more than a little traumatic.  
Rex needed to explain. And Emmet needed time.  
After a moment spent calming himself down, Emmet spoke again, voice once again calm. "What would destroying the temple have done, really?"  
Rex had a feeling Emmet had already guessed, but he didn't think it wise to give him a straightforward answer just yet. "It would have finished what I started," Rex said simply.  
"What... exactly, were you trying to do?"  
Rex turned around, holding out the cold compress, and a raptor immediately took it from him and scurried off to put it away. He started walking towards Emmet slowly, who didn't move an inch.  
"Now, Emmet. This is going to be a lot to take in, but everything I'm about to tell you is the truth."  
Emmet simply stared at him. The lack of emotion in his gaze was really starting to creep Rex out, but he didn't let his composure slip.  
"I didn't just happen to bump into you back at the Stairgate. I went back there to save you... To save us."  
"... Us?"  
Rex grinned, and almost flinched. The right side of his face was still smarting, more noticeably without the ice pack.  
This wasn't how he had rehearsed this exchange to go in the slightest. He was supposed to make the dramatic reveal after successfully bringing about Armamageddon, he and Emmet side by side, in mutual understanding that this was the path to adulthood, to leave behind the superficial comforts of their pretend past lives and move onward. Not like this, not with his body still aching from Emmet's attack, not with Emmet empty and bitter.  
But like he had said... he had to finish what he had started now.  
"Yeah. Us." He paused, unable to stop himself from adding a dramatic flair, even with the circumstances. "Emmet, I'm you. From the future."  
Emmet kept staring at Rex with that same incomprehensible look. Rex had no idea if he had understood him or not...  
He was seriously creeped out now. Why wasn't he saying anything? How many times does your future self reveal his identity to you on a daily basis?? He should be shocked, asking a million questions, disbelieving, begging for an explanation, or... Anything. Anything would be better than this calculating silence.  
Rex waited a few seconds more for Emmet to respond. When he just continued to sit in silence, Rex shook his head and continued.  
"The mission I told you about... It was our mission. I was in your place, in that house ship, trying to get through the Stairgate to save my friends.  
But in my case, no one was there to save me from that giant glasteroid. My ship was destroyed, and I was cast into Undar of the Dryar system... And there I stayed."  
Rex explained everything. About how he had been forgotten. How his friends had continued on with their lives, dancing and playing under the control of a monster. How the years of isolation had hardened his heart, and he had reinvented himself... And how he came to realize that if the world didn't need him, then he didn't need the world.  
"We don't need anyone," Rex continued bitterly. "Maybe they weren't brainwashed in the traditional sense, but they might as well be. In the hands of that... Thing..." He shook his head. "They're not our friends. They don't care about us."  
"So you would rather they be cast into the Bin of Stor-Age, instead of being under the control of someone else," Emmet said softly.  
Rex turned to face Emmet, brows raised slightly.  
Maybe he did understand.  
"Not only was I hoping to free us from our old lives, but I was trying to save everyone from a fate worse than death. An empty, shallow life that wasn't worth living."  
Rex realized too late that his choice of words had been very, very poor.  
Emmet's face suddenly became stormy. He stood slowly and advanced on Rex until their chests were practically bumping. "You're lying. You didn't want to save anyone. You just wanted revenge."  
Rex was taken aback for a moment, before he felt his own anger bubbling up. "Of course I wanted to save them! You saw them back there at the temple! You couldn't even recognize them!"  
"And why was that, Rex??" Emmet's voice raised in volume as he kept advancing, forcing Rex backwards, much to his frustration. "Because for the first time in five years they were actually happy again?? Rex, the reason they looked so different was because for years they'd been forced into a decrepit life of fear and self-preservation, struggling to survive in a world that felt inhospitable. It drained the life and joy out of them. But now... They were finally happy again! They were smiling and laughing and..." Emmet's expression hardened like flint. "You condemned them just for being happy.  
"You didn't want to save them.  
"You wanted to punish them... Because how dare they be living a joyful life without you."  
Rex stopped retreating and stood his ground. Emmet bumped into him unapologetically, staring him down with a look of disapproval. As if he was the child.  
"Who the hell gave you the right to talk to me like that," Rex said in a deathly quiet voice. It was all he could do to keep his anger in check.  
How dare he.  
How DARE he assume to understand what he had gone through.  
All those years of isolation and torment, praying for it all to end, not caring how.  
Rex and Emmet stared each other down for a few tense seconds. It felt as if the entire ship was holding its breath.  
Suddenly Rex shook his head, rubbing his forehead. "You know what? Screw it!" Rex gave a single, loud laugh, startling Emmet. "Screw it all! So what if you're right? If I just wanted revenge?? My motive doesn't matter." He straightened, jabbing a hand into Emmet's chest. "I still have a job to do. And we're going back in time again to fi--" Rex was cut off was Emmet shoved him back against the wall, planting an arm across his neck to prevent him from moving. He hadn't realized how far back Emmet had forced him. Rex simply stared at Emmet in shock, once again too stunned to fight back.  
"You can go back again?" Emmet said in a hushed voice. "Your time machine. You can go back more than once?"  
Rex cursed, trying to pull Emmet's arm off of him, words slightly choked. "Well-- of-- _course! Let go of me!!_ "  
Emmet stumbled back, releasing Rex. Rex took a deep, relieved breath, massaging his neck.  
`What the hell??`  
"Then there's still a chance," Emmet muttered.  
All at once Rex realized what Emmet was planning on doing. He opened his mouth to argue, then paused.  
He could work with this.  
Rex forced a grin and nodded. "Yep, now that you mention it, there is still a chance. If we go back to before the, uh, _incident_ on the temple, you can hold Lucy back while your past self destroys the temple."  
Emmet looked up quickly, eyes wide.  
"You get Lucy, I get the justice that I... that _we_ deserve."  
"I don't want to cause Armamageddon..." Emmet muttered, but Rex could tell he was thinking hard.  
"I'm the only one that knows how this baby works--" he pat the wall affectionately-- "so if we're going back, it's on my terms. You get Lucy. But the temple has to be destroyed."  
Emmet looked down at his feet. Rex couldn't see his expression, but he wasn't worried. If all he needed to do in order to get what he wanted was let Emmet drag along one of those pieces of plastic, it was a small price to pay. Emmet would come around eventually, it was only a matter of time. He could practically feel the bitterness building up in his past self, like static collecting in the air. He wanted to keep Lucy, fine, but how long would that last?  
Emmet began slowly looking up again, and Rex turned away to hide his triumphant grin.  
"... I'll do it," Emmet said softly.  
"I knew you had it in you!!" Rex punched Emmet's shoulder a little harder than necessary, suppressing a smirk when he flinched. "Raptors!!"  
His loyal dinosaurs immediately straightened, standing at attention. He glanced at Emmet, who simply nodded once.  
Rex put on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.  
"We're going back."


End file.
